Chapter published in:
Advancedness in Second Language Spanish: Definitions, challenges, and possibilities
Edited by Mandy R. Menke and Paul A. Malovrh
[Issues in Hispanic and Lusophone Linguistics 31] 2021
► pp. 300–321

Spanish-language advancedness

Grammatical metaphor and the oral-written continuum

| University of Virginia
For Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL), language embodies a continuum of uses extending from extreme informality to extreme formality. Users develop informal registers first, and formal registers only subsequently, generally in the academic setting. SFL views Grammatical Metaphor (GM) as the most prevalent feature of advanced language use insofar as it helps achieve the tasks typical of academic contexts. Through GM, language users deploy complex meaning-making to achieve objectification and abstraction of discipline-based knowledge. In this chapter, the move from informal to more formal language is traced using evidence drawn from recent studies on Spanish GM. Longer participation in educational settings correlates with students producing GMs or attempting to align their GM use to that of the the specialized community.
Keywords: advanced L2 Spanish, Systemic Functional Linguistics, grammatical metaphor, register, L2 writing
Published online: 08 February 2021
https://doi.org/10.1075/ihll.31.13vel
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